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As the ladies, many of whom were his personal friends, crowded around General Jackson exclaiming, “Thank God we are free! Thank God we are free once more,” he is said to have waved his cap in the air, and to have joined lustily in the cheers of the soldiers and the citizens. But he did not linger amid these congratulations. He dashed on after the retreating enemy, and soon sent back the characteristic order: “Let every battery and every brigade push forward to the Potomac.” He keenly felt the absence of his cavalry at this juncture, and said in his official report: “There is good reason for believing that had the cavalry played its part in this pursuit as well as the four companies under Colonel Flournoy, two days before in the pursuit from Front Royal, but a small portion of Banks's army would have made its escape to the Potomac.”
The gallant Colonel Ashby had gone off with his cavalry in pursuit of a force in the direction of Romney, and was thus unfortunately absent at this important juncture.
It was soon found impossible for our broken down infantry to over-take the fleeing foe, who threw away guns, knapsacks, and everything which could impede their progress, and accordingly we were halted five miles from Winchester.
There were immense quantities of stores of every kind captured at both Winchester and Martinsburg, and our fellows revelled in the supplies of every description, which the sutlers had accumulated in Winchester.
It was the capture of these immense quantities of medical, ordnance, commisary, and especially quarter-master stores, which originated the soubriquet by which ever afterwards we knew General Banks, as “Stonewall Jackson's quarter-master.” I remember that at the battle of Slaughter's Mountain when we learned from a prisoner that General Banks was in command of the forces opposed to us, it rang all along our line: “Send in your requisitions, boys, for whatever you want in the way of clothing. ‘Stonewall's Quarter-master’ --General Banks--has come with a full supply to issue.” We have a kindly feeling for General Banks. He treated the people of the Valley much more leniently than his successors in command there. He has shown on occasion (not always) that he has some appreciation of the fact that the war closed with the surrender of the Confederate armies. And he certainly did make us a first rate quarter-master, and General Dick Taylor an admirable commissary. But it must be confessed that he did not seem to manage matters well either in the Valley, or on Red River. Yet we will give him a chance to be heard in his own behalf.
“It is seldom” says General Banks in his report, “that a river crossing ”
